Improvement in oars



, itnitgdf 'glatte @anni @wird ROBERT GLEASON, LIBERTYVILLE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TOl EDWIN W. PARKHURST, OF SAME PLACE.

I-IIMsnLr AND Letters .Patent N 91,226, dated 'June 15,1869.

INIPRO'VEMENT IN CARS.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Routier E. GLEAsoN, of Libertyville, in the county of Lake, and State ot'lllinois, have invented certain newand useful Improvements l in Oars; and I do :hereby declare that the following is a full, clearand exact description of' the constrnction and operation thereof', reference being had to the accompanying drawings, makinga part of this specication, in which Figure-1 is a top view of my oar connected t0 a boat, G.

Figure 2, a rear view.

Figure 3, a side view, looking at boat.

Figure 4 shows the slide D and connecting-rods, looking at the inside of the boat.

The object of my invention is to so construct oars,- and connect the -same to boats, that the oarsman, when rowing, will sit facing the bow of the boat, looking in the direction in which the boat. is being propelled, th'e action of the oarsman being the same aswhen using the common oar, and sitting with his face toward the stern of the boat, in the u'sual manner.

the inside of the To enable others skilled iu the art to make and usev my invention, I proceed `to describe theconstrnction and operation of the saule.

I make my oar in two parts, A being the blade, and B thelhandle, these two parts corresponding with the two parts which would be made by cutting a common oar into two pieces at the point where it is placed in the row-lock. 4

To the inner end of each piece Iattach irons a b, the under irons, 1), b'eing straight, so as to bring the oar down n'ear the, edge of the boat, butthe upper irons, a.,'I curve upward from the oar, as shown, so that in use therefwillfbe less play upon the iron to which they are connected.

These irons are securely bolted to the several parts of theoar, and the ends projecting from the ends of the sevelal parts of the oar are all provided with one holeeach.- A g YH represets an iron rod,.about five inches long, to thecentre ot' which, and at'right angles thereto is se cured, bywelding, or otherwise, an. iron pin, 1, about tive inches long, to receive the oars. 4

The ends ot' thisiron, H, are to be placed in eyes in the ends of suitable bplts or irons, which are to be fasteneflto the sides oijthe boat.

This iron, lL-I, is to move somewhatfreely in the bearings, but the ends 'should be. smaller than 'the central portion,` to preventlongitudinalmotion, and keep it in place; or this -niay beaccomplished in some other way, as,- by making t-he -iron long enough to extend beyond the bearings,and placinga nut ou eat-'h end.

The Schedule referred to in these. Letters Patent and making part of the sama.

O is an iron rod, about two feet long, one end of which has an eye, by which it is connected with the iron h, over which it passes. The other end isV pivoted to the edge of the boat at c.

D is a slide, which moves easily upon the rod O.

E F are two strong iron rods. One end of the former is pivoted to B at d, and its other end is pivoted to the slide D at e, and one end of F is pivoted to A at d', and the other end to D at e.

My oar is connected to the boat, with the accompanying devices, by rst putting the lower irons b b upon the iron h, which .passes 'through the holes in said irons b.

The point, at the end of O, is passed into the eye prepared to receive it at c, and the eye, at the other 4 end of O, is passed over the iron h.. The upper irons a a are then passed over h, and all can be secured by a nut at the top of h. The oar is then ready for use.

The oarsman occupies the seat S, looking in the direction theboat is to move.

By pressing down upon B, and pushing from him,

A will be lifted out of the water and carried forward, ready for the stroke. Then, by elevating B and pulling toward him, the oar will dip into the water, and the boat will be propelled forward in the direction in which the oarsnian is looking.

The action of the oarsman is the same as when using the common oar, but the direction in which the boat is propelled by suoli action, is directly opposite to the direction in which it would move if, with the same action, the common oar were used.

When the full stroke has been taken, the oar can be easily raised out of the water, and carried forward for a second stroke, as before described.

When the oarsman pulls the part B toward him, the power is applied to the slide D by means of the rod E, dxawin g the slide along the rod G, toward the point where the oar is pivoted, and the same power, at the same time, through the rod F, forces the blade A through the water.

The movement of the parts, while the stroke is being taken, is indicated the red lines in iig. l.

The position of the pin t, when the blade is in the water, and when out of the water, is indicated by red lines in fig. 2. The position of the other parts will, of course, be correspondingly changed, but is not indicated.

When not in use, the several parts can be placed in the position shown at I, iig. l.

The oarsrnan can propel the boat backward, if' he desires so to do, by reversing the'action described.

The several' parts move freely in every required direction, in consequence of the manner in which they are connected and pivoted.

I do not confine myself to the form shown, in making the irons a b. These may be cast in :i single piece, the central part encircling the oni', and the forni may be in other iespects changed.

It is evident that the oar and its attachments can be readily removed from the boat.

For many purposes, this oar will be found very useful; in fact, in most eases where a boat is managed by a single peison, its use will he desirable. I may inention that its use will be found almost indispensable for hunters, enabling them to watch for game, and avoid disturbing the same.

The opening through the slide D may he hushed Witnesses: ROBERT E. GLEASON.

W. H. GILLMOBE, E. A. Wnsr. 

